Extending Network Operation Beyond Congestion Through Embedded Coding [In the Spotlight]

On 23 August 2011, the Washington, D.C., area experienced an earthquake that was unusually strong for that region and with an intensity enough to damage some of the monuments in the United States´ capital city. While even stronger earthquakes are regular occurrences in other regions of the world, for many of the millions of people in the Washington, D.C., area, this was the first earthquake strong enough to be clearly felt. This was evident from the public´s reaction, as the massive attempt to communicate though cell phones after the earthquake brought the networks down (an event that was reported by several media, including The Washington Post [1]).